Broomfield eyeing updated urban renewal plans to spruce up city

Improved infrastructure and job creation are two goals of program

The Flatiron Marketplace in Broomfield is being considered for an urban renewal area.
(
David R. Jennings
)

Broomfield is aiming to redraw the boundaries of some of its urban renewal areas to better fit future development plans.

By adjusting urban renewal lines, Broomfield officials said they can better nurture redevelopment in areas such as the former Target and Kmart store sites, the Civic Center area, an area near 120th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard and some industrial areas near U.S. 36, including FlatIron Marketplace, which has a number of empty store fronts after a number of tenants departed in recent years.

Urban renewal areas, or URAs, are zones considered run-down or "blighted" in some way. By giving a zone a URA designation, Broomfield can use tax increment financing, or TIF, to help redevelop the area, fix up infrastructure or attract new businesses or jobs.

Urban renewal districts are temporary and typically last 20 to 25 years. That means some of Broomfield's URAs were due for an update to more accurately line up with areas that likely will see redevelopment in 2013 and beyond, said Deputy City and County Manager Kevin Standbridge.

With plans for housing and potential talks with retailers in the works, "we anticipate seeing some development in some of these areas soon," he said.

The newly revised urban renewal areas are key to kick-starting redevelopment in areas that have been vacant for several years, he said.

"It gives us some resources and incentives to help" attract new retailers, he said.

City Council initially examined a revised urban renewal map at its July 23 meeting, but plans to officially approve the changes are now set for an Aug. 13 public hearing.

Broomfield is considering changes to five areas, which are being consolidated or shifted from previous urban renewal zones that either have become successful economic areas or need to be reworked to better suit modern-day Broomfield.

The overall goal is to use the URA model to bring in a balance of "varied employment opportunities and to encourage private investment through continued public investment in facilities, infrastructure and services," according to a staff memo.

One proposed URA is Lowell Gateway, an area that stretches along 120th Avenue between Lowell Boulevard and Tennyson Street, with 124th Avenue as its northern border.

Within a month or so, council will examine a plan there for a new apartment complex near the site of the city's old drive-in movie theater at 120th Avenue and Perry Street, Standbridge said.

A new U.S. 36 West Corridor URA includes some of Broomfield's industrial or commercial areas off Burbank Street, along Commerce Street and parts of 120th Avenue. The area also includes Flatiron Marketplace, which has seen low occupancy since retailers such as The Great Indoors, Office Depot, Linens N Things and Nordstrom Rack closed or relocated their stores. More than half of the center is vacant.

The Broomfield Plaza Civic Center URA is another proposed area. It includes parts of the Community Park ball fields and Brunner Reservoir, as well as an east-west greenbelt trail that connects the civic center to Broomfield Plaza. It includes the site of the former Kmart, which Broomfield has been hoping to fill since it closed in 2012.

The Broomfield Plaza Civic Center and Lowell Gateway are parts of the former 120th Avenue Corridor Gateway URA. That has since been cut into separate URAs so TIF funding can be used for a longer period of time on areas that have not yet developed or redeveloped since the original 120th Avenue Corridor Gateway URA was adopted in 2004, according to the staff memo.

Other proposed URAs include Original Broomfield URA, which is bordered by some of Broomfield's major roads, such as U.S. 36 to the west, 120th Avenue to the north and Main Street to the east.

There are nine urban renewal areas in Broomfield, but if council approves the revisions to the Urban Renewal plans during its Aug. 13 meeting, Broomfield will have 11, Standbridge said.

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